Multifamily Housing Preservation Overview
HUD manages a portfolio of over 20,000 privately owned multifamily properties consisting of approximately 1.4 million rental units. Many of these properties were originally financed with FHA-insured or Direct Loans, including:
- Section 236 Mortgage
- Section 202 Direct Loan
The existing stock of affordable Section 202 and Section 236 housing is a critical resource for low-income tenants, including seniors and disabled households who might otherwise not have access to a safe, decent sanitary place to call home. However, the majority of currently-active program mortgages are scheduled to mature within the next ten years. Once these HUD mortgages mature, the HUD affordability restrictions expire as well and any available preservation options essentially vanish. Thousands of elderly, special needs and other low-income households are at risk of losing their affordable housing.
HUD's multifamily portfolio also consists of properties that are subsidized with Section 8 contracts, along with Public Housing units. Both the Mark-to-Market (M2M) and Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) programs were established to facilitate the successful preservation of these aging affordable housing assets.
What Is Preservation?
HUD does not currently have the budget resources necessary to support the construction of new projects to replace older multifamily properties. Therefore, HUD has implemented a number of affordable housing preservation strategies and related programs to protect the affordability, structural integrity, and long-term financial viability of these valuable rental housing assets. These are all managed by the Multifamily Office of Recapitalization.
Determining which preservation options are available for the type of property you own and/or manage can be challenging. Even once this is accomplished, exercising these options can be equally, if not more challenging. Therefore, HUD has developed technical guidance tools and products designed specifically for those who want to preserve the affordability of their rental properties, but are not sure how to proceed.
Online Preservation Tools and Technical Guidance
The HUD Exchange is HUD's central online source of various program technical assistance guidance and tools. This is the host site for Community Compass, which is HUD's integrated approach to providing program technical assistance and capacity building activities designed to help customers navigate challenges associated with HUD funding and programs and points them in the right direction to best serve their communities.
The HUD Exchange offers a number of program-specific preservation resources, including written guidance, online training, and the facilitation of technical assistance.
- Resource Library. HUD is developing various multifamily preservation technical assistance tools and products which will be posted here on the HUD Exchange. You can find these tools on the program pages under the Getting Started section on the right-hand side:
- Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD)
- Section 236 Preservation
- Mark-to-Market (M2M) - site under development
- Preservation Mailing Lists.
- Click Here to register for a variety of HUD program mailing lists, including Multifamily Housing.
- Log on to HUD.gov to register for the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) listserv.
- Webinars. Upcoming and prerecorded webinars on various preservation topics are available through the HUD Exchange Training and Events.
- HUD Multifamily Affordable Housing Preservation Clinics. HUD will be hosting Multifamily Affordable Housing Preservation Clinics at multiple locations across the country through 2015 and 2016. The clinics are intended to encourage HUD-assisted affordable multifamily property owners to begin developing and implementing a preservation and recapitalization strategy. To learn more about the clinics and how to register for one, visit the HUD Multifamily Affordable Housing Preservation Clinics training page.
- RAD Office Hours. Sign up for a one-on-one "Mod Rehab Talk" session with a HUD staff member for an opportunity to discuss your property, and get questions answered about RAD conversion, preservation strategies, and more. Reserve your spot now!
In addition to the technical guidance available on the HUD Exchange, HUD provides the following levels of program information and other guidance:
- HUD.gov: General preservation program information is available on the Department’s web site:
- Resource Desks: The following sites serve as the main portal for applicants and participants to ask questions, search for information and forms, upload application documents, and track their progress toward closing.
- Technical Assistance. Project owners can directly contact HUD to request technical assistance using the following email addresses:
- RAD: rad@hud.gov
- Section 236: 236Preservation@hud.gov
- M2M: m2minfo@hud.gov
- Section 202: Section202@hud.gov